


Three Orphans

by Echan23



Category: Original Work
Genre: Based on a dream I had, Bittersweet Ending, Bonding, Found Family, Gen, I made my family cry, Little Kid Shenanigans, Major Character Injury, Major Character(s) death, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Orphans, Short Story, boys and their dog, but also cute, dog babysits, dog is a good dog, dog is technically the only one with a name, it's all a bad idea, kid babysits dog, kids being kids, oh right my subconscious, these guys are not role models, this turned out surprisingly well, ultimate dad friend, warning you now it's sad, who came up with this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8680753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echan23/pseuds/Echan23
Summary: The story of how three orphans came together out of necessity to form their own family when they had none. The story of their struggles, lives, and losses. And how they found each other again.AKA this dream I had that I managed to make sense of and write down before I forgot it.





	

It’s a beautiful day, it really is. Summer was months ago but winter has yet to catch up. Birds are singing in the colorful trees, adding their notes to the symphony of the park. A few yards away children play on a playground, I don’t mind their noise either. Happy children are a joyous sound. 

 

On the other side of the park middle aged men play golf, twisting their bodies in a way I could only remember doing myself. A couple of the neon green balls land close by but I’m not afraid of getting hit. Few things scare you at my age. 

 

My joints are complaining again, there’s a good chance it’ll rain. I set my sights on a park bench nearby and make my way over to it. Positioning my cane just so, I lower myself to the seat with a sigh. I remember with longing when I could walk for hours without rest. My age caught up with me too fast. It seemed like just yesterday I too was a child playing in this neighborhood. I’m glad I got to see it one more time. 

A sudden chill wind makes me burrow deeper into my coat and scarf. When I look up again a man is standing in front of me, a dog sitting obediently by his side. 

 

He’s young, a teenager really, wearing tattered dark clothes and an old greyish hat. His hair is black too, peeking out from his hat. His eyes, a bright lively green, are the only splash of color on him. His dog is mostly black, with white half way up its front legs and on its muzzle. Its tail, curling around its body, has a wide black tip. It looks very soft and fluffy, like it has been well cared for, although it has no collar. Its dark eyes are the kindest I’ve seen. 

 

“Well hello there” I greet the two and the boy gives me a soft smile. 

 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he says, which confuses me. 

 

“I’m sorry, have we met?”

“Yes, many many years ago.”

 

I don’t remember this boy at all. My memory’s not as it used to be. I give him an apologetic smile.

 

“Sorry son, you’ll have to refresh my memory.”

 

He nods, the sudden movement and a slight breeze knocking the loose fitting hat from his head to rest on the bench beside me. I pick it up and the dog steps forward to grasp it gently in its teeth, giving it back to his master. 

 

“His name is Gee” the boy says, seating the hat back on his head. 

 

The name sparks something in my old mind, some far off memory. The boy is smiling at my wondering expression. He knows I’m getting somewhere but wants me to complete the puzzle. 

 

“Then… who are you?” 

 

He has the same sad, soft smile. Almost familiar....

 

“I’m your dad.”

 

My eyes widen, my mind spinning trying to make sense of it. My father didn’t look anything like this boy, and he’s been dead for years. The boy sees my confusion.

 

“You don’t believe me?” I just stare at him, eyebrows together. “Then let me show you.”  


He steps forward and touches a fingertip to my forehead.

 

 

 

I was small when he found me, young and small, couldn’t have been more the two years old. 

 

He looked to be about eleven or twelve, hiding in a side street, one arm cupped around the squirming bundle in his coat, watching the entrance to the street. A scratching sound made him turn, a flash of movement in a cardboard box made him move closer. It was me in the box, abandoned with not even a coat to ward off the cold. 

 

Orphan looked at orphan, neither moving or saying anything. The bundle in the boy’s coat wiggled and a tiny fluffy head popped out under the boy’s chin. The third orphan tilted his head at the box and its contents. 

 

I reached a little hand out to them, wanting the warmth and comfort they had. The puppy squirmed again and the boy undid his coat so he could get out and come to me. I smiled as his cold nose touched my hand and his tail wagged. The boy reached a hand in and I quickly grasped a finger. He was warm. 

 

He smiled softly, friendly. Little me decided I liked him. He helped me sit up and the puppy licked my face, trying to get closer, and I giggled. The boy’s face lit up with my little show of happiness. 

 

My stomach grumbled with hunger then, kicking down all happy thoughts. I was ready to cry. The boy’s expression turned panicked and he lifted the puppy into my box. Immediately we were too interested in each other to notice anything else. “Stay with Gee, okay?” he told me, an idea forming in his head.

 

I didn’t notice he was gone until he came back, sporting a black eye and carefully carrying a tin can. Inside was milk, which he divided between us. I got most of it. 

 

After that Gee went back into his coat and the boy found an old blanket to wrap around me. With Gee in one side of his coat and me on the other hip, he carefully glanced each way before stepping out into the crowds on the streets.

 

He took us to a tiny hut he had made with salvaged pieces of wood and cardboard in a tight alley. Most important, he told me, was the gate with a latch he had made to look like a fence so we could hide. He never told me what we were hiding from.

 

“This is home” he said, letting both of his passengers down. Gee ran around the enclosure, expressing his happiness in tail wags and leaps, not noise. The boy had trained him well. I was too cold to leave my blanket to join him, although I was just as happy to have a home.

 

We slept in the hut that night, curled up together sharing heat and comfort. 

 

The next day the boy left me with Gee to get food and clothes, but not before setting out some rules. 

 

“No roughhousing, okay? I don’t want to come home to one of you hurt.” he shook a finger at both of us, sitting in the doorway of the hut. “And you have to be quiet too, we can’t have someone coming in here. You can play but you gotta play quiet. And no waking each other up from naps!”

 

He wasn’t gone too long but it felt like all day. When we saw his fingers come over the top of the gate to work the latch we both jumped up to meet him. He picked both of us up in turn for a hug. 

 

“Now look what I got.” Gee was wiggling with delight even before he brought out the chunk of cheese and bread.

 

After our feast he pulled out several articles of clothing from his coat and pockets. Warm socks, trousers, a shirt and a woolen coat for me and a scarf and hat for himself, as well as a bigger blanket to cover us all at night. 

 

“Bigger family, bigger blanket” he said, laying down on it. I crawled over to sit by him. Gee clamored over him to join the party. The boy hissed when he did and grabbed his side. Gee immediately froze and licked his face.

 

“Nah I’m alright boys” he insisted, patting first Gee then me. I picked up the hat he got and looked at it curiously.

 

“It’s a derby hat,” he explained. “Hat, see?” He took it and set it on his head. It almost hid his eyes. “It’s a bit big but I’ll fix-”

 

I laughed and reached for it, wanting to try this game. He put it on me and it came down to rest of my nose. He laughed as I turned around trying to figure out why it was so dark. He took it off with a “boo!” I giggled and hugged him. 

 

We were much warmer that night with the blanket. 

 

The days went on like that. The boy would leave me with Gee to get food for the day, then we’d play and talk. The boy loved talking to us, even if we didn’t say anything back. I learned to talk from him because of it. My first word was “Dada.” I never saw him more happy than when I first called him, though he always praised each word I learned. 

 

As the days grew warmer he would take us outside more often. Gee was too big to fit in his coat by now but would sometimes ride on his back, which would make people laugh and sometimes give us a coin. Gee thoroughly enjoyed the attention. Gee and I loved swinging in the park, sometimes sharing a swing. This got us attention too.

 

“My, he’s just like a boy too!” some would say.

 

If there got to be too many people around the boy would take us home. We liked that best anyway. When it got too hot to sleep in the hut we’d spread the blanket on the ground and watch the stars before going to sleep, the boy laying on Gee and me laying on the boy. 

 

Time tended to get away from us. Years rolled by. We all grew fast, keeping “Dad” on his toes keeping us fed and clothed. 

 

Our favorite time of day was when he came home. Every time we saw his fingers come over the top of the fence we’d be over there in a second, ready to jump him when he came through.

 

“Dad!” “Woof!” “Oof!”

 

And down we’d go, wrestling and tackling.

 

“Did you boys be good?” he asked, reaching behind him to grab Gee. 

 

“Of course!” I answered while climbing onto his shoulders. He pulled me down to land on Gee, who slides me off and tackled Dad again.

 

“Oof! Good boys” 

 

I laughed and jumped on him again.

 

“Ah!”

 

We both stopped, as usual when he showed any sign of being in pain, which was often. “You okay Dad?” I always asked, even if the answer was always the same. 

 

He smiles, rubbing his leg where I landed. “Of course! Now who’s ready to eat?”

 

“Yeah!” 

At the word “eat” Gee jumped up and led the way to the hut.

 

“Ugh, we need to make this thing bigger” Dad said, crawling in to get the tin cans we used as cups, bowls and plates. He was around fifteen now and much taller. Between the three of us it got pretty tight in there. 

 

“Really? Today?” I asked, always ready for something new. 

 

“Sure, why not?”

 

I whooped quietly and he smiled, ruffling my hair. I noticed he favored one leg as he got to his feet. 

 

After our meal of crackers and beans we went out to gather supplies. By the time we got back I carried Dad’s ever-handy hat full of nails, Gee had an old hammer in his mouth and Dad had a load of salvaged scrap wood. By the time we were done the hut was scooted farther from the wall it leaned on and wood closed the gap, adding a good foot of width and height. Dad was also limping badly.

 

“Whew! Good work men” he said, sitting down with a grunt to join Gee, who thought the day was too hot for so much work, and I sat on the other side. 

 

“We did good” I said proudly, looking at our hideous accomplishment in the fading light. 

 

“That we did, boys, that we did.”

 

We wound up falling asleep like that.

 

Dad also took care of hair cuts for all of us, insisting we don’t look “all straggly” despite our best efforts to convince him otherwise. 

 

“Besides, girls have long hair” I muttered at one point, an argumentative seven year old.

 

“That’s because they’re girls” he mumbled through his penknife in between his teeth as he tries to comb his fingers through all my hair. 

 

“That’s not a good reason.”

He took his knife and sawed a lock off. “Don’t you want to look handsome?”

 

I fought to keep my head straight as he repeated the process. “Orphans aren’t handsome, Dad.” I sounded resentful.

 

He stopped working for a minute. “Who told you that?”

 

“A boy at the park. He said orphans are dirty, ugly and useless and no one wants them.”

 

I heard him set down his tool and come over to sit in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t listen to that boy, okay? He’s just a big meanie who’s jealous ‘cause he doesn’t have what you got.”

 

I look up at him, confused. “But Dad, we don’t have anything” I said quietly and for one second I saw a shadow of sadness come over his ever-cheerful face.

 

“Sure we do. Does that kid get to sleep outside _all summer?_ Or have a picnic everyday?” He reached over to pat the big blanket we ate on. I shook my head. “He doesn’t have the best dog in the world either, does he?” He jerked a thumb at Gee, hiding from his haircut in the hut.  


I shook my head again, smiling this time. “He doesn’t have the best dad in the world either too” I added and he blinked in surprise before grinning.

 

“That’s right. You’re the handsomest boy in the world, don’t let anyone tell you different.” I smiled and hugged him, feeling better. “Now run along, it’s Gee’s turn. Gee!” I snickered at the dog reluctance to get the mats trimmed out of his fur and went to get him. 

 

As I got older Dad let me go out with just Gee while he was out scavenging. This was great fun for us and proved useful too, as we sometimes got a coin or two or found something of use. It was also a race to see if we could bet Dad home. We won most of the time.

 

I wasn’t as tall as Dad was when he was eight, when he built the fence, so I had to stand on something to reach the latch. Gee proved useful for giving a boost when he was willing. 

 

“Ha! Beat him again, Gee” I said triumphantly, jumping up to put the latch back in place, another obstacle. Then we settled down to wait.

 

Eventually we heard running feet and the latch popped open before we even saw the fingers. Dad burst through, slamming the gate shut and latching it behind him, breathing hard. Gee and I were too surprised to do our usual tackle. 

 

“Dad what-” he clapped his hand over my mouth, making a “sh!” gesture. Then I noticed the blood caked on the side of his head and gasped softly. He gave me a reassuring smile and shushed me again. 

 

That’s when I heard the pounding of boots on the sidewalk. “He went this way!” someone shouted, right on the other side of the fence and Dad flinched. Gee growled and Dad grabbed him too. More people ran past, shouting. Then person kept going and I relaxed. It wasn’t until they were long gone that Dad took his hand away and collapsed against the wall, panting and holding his side. Me and Gee flew over to him.

 

“What happened Dad?”

 

It took him a minute to catch his breath. “N-nothing boys, just got into a little trouble with the coppers, no big deal." Gee nudged his side lovingly and he winced. He lifted his shirt, revealing a giant ugly bruise across his ribs. I gasped and he whistled. “Just a couple cracked ribs, I’m fine.”

 

I looked at him wide eyed. ‘‘And your head…” he reached up to feel the cut, his fingers came away bloody. Gee whined. 

 

“Not as bad as it looks, I promise.”

 

I just stared at him, eyebrows together. “Dad…”

 

He sighed deeply and Gee moved onto his lap, he petted him absently. “Just… promise me one thing, alright? Never, ever steal, okay? No matter what happens to me or what I do, never steal. Promise me?”

 

That’s when it made sense. I had never realized it before then. He had been stealing to make sure we never went hungry. That was why he came home sore and tired. He put himself in danger for us. 

 

I threw my arms around him, hugging him tight. “I promise Dad, anything.” 

 

He smiled and let go. “Good. Now on a totally unrelated note, who’s hungry?” He pulled out a sausage, still wrapped and tied with a string, from his pocket. Gee and I couldn’t help from jumping with joy at such a treat. 

 

If there was one rule Dad never tolerated being broken, it was be home before dark. Me and Gee could play out all we wanted as long as we were home before dark. Otherwise I knew Dad would scour the city until he found us. He never had to though, we never broke the rule. But he did.

 

When we got home before Dad we weren’t worried, that happened all the time. When we waited for him by the gate for half an hour, that wasn’t too unusual. We just played around to pass the time. When midday, our usual meal time, came and went, we started to get a little concerned. Dad always said if he didn’t find anything for lunch he’d come back and tell us before going out again. But if he was on the other side of town he might’ve decided to keep looking and save the trip. When the day stretched on with no sign of him, we got worried.

 

I decided to take a nap. That way when I woke up he would be there. It worked before. After much tossing and turning I finally fell asleep. 

 

When I woke up he still wasn’t home. Gee had stopped pacing and just sat at the gate, waiting. “Where is he, Gee?” He just whined and squirmed. 

 

It grew later and later and still he didn’t show. “Gee something’s wrong, he would never be this late.” I realized then why Dad talked to us seemingly for no reason. It put off the loneliness.

 

Finally twilight came, then dark. We both watched the sky grow darker and darker, getting more and more scared. Where’s Dad? 

 

“Okay Gee, we’re going to find him” I said finally, getting up and going to open the gate. Gee, knowing something was up, jumped up and followed. 

 

The city was different at night. Everything was sinister and mysterious, I jumped at every sound. Other dogs barking that would usually be friendly was now threatening and menacing. I kept one hand on Gee’s scruff, jumping every time he growled and stopping when he stopped. I saw why Dad didn’t let us out at night. The city at night was a completely different place.

 

It seemed like hours before we ran into the police. We saw several go by, all headed in the same direction, and followed them in hopes of finding something out. And we did. 

 

Rounding a corner we saw several officers gathered around something on the ground. Getting closer I realized it was a body. With black hair and clothes, and an old derby hat lying on the ground. 

 

_No._

 

“That’ll teach those thievin’ orphans” one officer said as a sheet was draped over the body.

 

 _No no no not Dad. Not Dad!_ “Dad!”

 

I hadn’t realized Gee was growling at the strange people keeping him from his master. One second he was by me the next he was charging them, barking furiously. 

 

“Gee no!” I yelled, too late. 

 

He attacked them, driving them away from the still figure. _Stop Gee, it’s too late._

 

“Mad dog!” an officer yelled, drawing his gun. 

 

“No!” I yelled, running but too far to do anything. Too late. 

 

With a shot and a yelp, Gee laid there beside Dad, his blood staining the sheet. I froze, not knowing what to do. _This can’t be happening._

 

‘’You, boy,” an officer saw me, I flinched. “What are you doing here? Go home!” 

 

I took a step back then turned and ran. Memory was the only thing keeping me going straight, between the darkness and the tears blurring my vision. I ran the whole way home before realizing I couldn’t go in, couldn’t face the empty space that used to be so full of love. So full of family. 

 

I kept going, running and walking until I couldn’t take another step. I collapsed on someone’s front porch and fell asleep. 

 

A kind woman woke me the next morning. “Where are your parents, son?” 

 

I scrubbed my eyes and sniffed hard, Dad’s face in my mind. “Dead” 

 

She gasped softly. “What about your brothers and sisters?”

 

Gee’s face joined his. “Dead too”

 

She shook her head sadly and took me in and fed me. Real food hot off the stove. She gave me a bath and clean clothes. Her husband came home and we talked. They wanted me to stay and be their boy. I agreed, not having anywhere else to go.

 

Years went by and they became my parents, my mother and father. I went to school, got a job, got married. I got old.

 

 

 

Then I’m back at the park, old again as Dad takes his finger away, his face unreadable. There are tears running down my cheeks. 

 

“Dad…” Gee whines and rests his head on my knee.

 

“Don’t cry, boys. It’s okay now” Dad says.

 

“I missed you so much” I tell them both, Dad smiles.

 

“Do you want to come with us? Do you want to come home?”

 

“Yes” my voice trembles. 

 

Dad holds out a hand. “Let’s go, it’s getting dark.” I take his hand and get up, easier than I had in years, leaving my cane behind. Gee leads the way toward a bright white light. Each step feels lighter and easier than the one before. Then I’m nine again, a child again with my family.

 

I’m home.


End file.
